The Travelling Fund; £10,000 in 10 months!!!

apple_muncher

Do you own a car? Or will you have to hire one? More expense?

AVIS are having a laugh! Boo hiss and much sticking out of tongues to them.

Credit to you with your advance planning! March - although all written down - is feeling like a lurch from day to day. Have been talking mse to a colleague and she proudly announce an NSD yesterday! And was working out how to make Sat one too. I feel sooooo proud of her!

NinjaSavingKat

Apple Muncher I am trying to figure out logistics between booking a flights to Bangkok from Belfast on November 1st or a separate flight from Belfast to London then London to Bangkok... but should I then buy the flight/ferry to Belfast first and how much is this going to cost etc.. I think I am starting to drive myself nuts.

I don't own a car so have no option but to hire. Yes AVIS are having a larf and a harf but I have yet to really look into it. The issue is I would need the car delivered the night before in order to get packed and on the road at a decent time. So that's one day right there before I have even got in the car. Second if I got the ferry, from what I see it's at 1330 or 2030 per day. Either time means I miss the closing time for the AVIS office in Belfast which means brining it back the day after. That's technically two days altogether that I really don't need.

The other issue is that I haven't driven a car since I passed my test in 2011. I went straight out and got my bike license and a bike. I would need to take the roads slowly hence it might take a little more time and I might have to bribe a girlfriend to come with me.

Yes March is plodding along... but I am so happy that your colleague is aiming for a spending free day. Slowly but surely we will infiltrate all the minds of the un-expecting...lol!!!

clippy_girl

hello

not sure about sedation but have a look at something called feliway for dorothy as its supposed to relax cats and stop them getting stressed (they sell it at my local rspca)

re financial education i have come across something by Birmingham City Council which is available to schools. have posted details on the challenge

Siouxsie32

Is buying a car an option? You could probably pick up a well maintained banger for £500ish and then resell it after your journey home?

I think animals on flights don't get sedated - I remember reading about it somewhere a while ago, and it's better for them not to be (although, check this out. I may be talking rubbish ). The animals are in a heated, pressurised section of the baggage hold and they have water for their journey so Dorothy would be quite comfortable!!

Re the two separate tickets Belfast-London/London-Bangkok. If there's a delay with the first flight and you miss the second, with one ticket from Belfast-London-Bangkok, it would be the airline's responsibility to get you to Bangkok. If it's two separate tickets, the responsibility lies with you, even if it's the airline's fault that it's late. It's not responsible for your onward travel. It'll probably cost a bit more, but with a new ticket to Bangkok costing so much, it's probably worth it. I used to get told this all the time when I travelled years ago. And airlines have got much stricter in recent years, implementing the rules with no discretion! If there's a huge difference, you could always travel to London and stay overnight somewhere (Travelodge style airport hotel) to build in some time for things going wrong. Are you booking direct with an airline or through an agent? I used to use the student travel agencies to get great deals on flights. Even although I wasn't a student, they do deals for young people...I would have been in my 20s, but different airlines had different definitions of 'young'. Getting itineraries together is right up my street, so if you fancy comparing notes on the best deals, just PM me.

Ha, just when I thought all my years of travelling were just for fun, some of the rules have stuck with me! I'm full of useless facts that occasionally turn out to be useful

NinjaSavingKat

Morning all.

Yes - sedation on a flight is not a good thing as the cat can't regulatre it's temperature so the sedation would be for the ferry route only. However the more I think about it the less I want to do it. I just fear her pooing in the cage although I am going to get a new one with a litter tray built in.

However moggy is quite resilient to certain obstacles. I went to bed early last night (2100) as I was feeling rubbish. Put moggy outside in the garden and opened my bedroom window so if she mewed to get in I would hear her as my window overlooks said garden. No mewing but some scrapping was heard.. I lept out of bed in case she was desperate to get in and being chased..... and before I could reach my bedroom door she shoved her body through my open window. ON THE FIRST FLOOR!!! So I think she got onto the neighbours fence, then onto the conservatory roof, then into my room. Clever puddy-tat!!! :T

Siouxsie I wouldn't consider buying a car. Between insurance, tax, mot (possibly) it's more hassle than it's worth and I might as well rent a car which is a little cheaper. Then what if it breaks down - I pay for it - if the rental car breaks down - they pay for it. Then I already have to sell my bike which is one thing I am not looking forward to (before I leave) so that would be my main concern.

Regarding the flights - if I was to do it in one day there is a delay inbetween flights of about 12 hours. Arrving from Belfast around 0830 @ Luton - then leaving from Heathrow @ 2100. So taking in transfers and arriving 2-3 hours early I should be ok. But sods law says I miss something or there is a rail strike etc etc.. so you are right. I will either have a night in a London hotel and invite friends to meet me for a meal in the evening and then fly the the next day.

I would stay with a friend but I don't want to end up on the other side of town, get stressed by children etc... I just want peace time to contemplate such a monumentous decision of leaving the country and stay in a very easy hotel who provides a sumptuous breakfast and a peaceful sleep in a bed and not on a sofa!

It's exciting even thinking about it! Lol!!!

I would be booking direct and not usaing an agent. Never have actually bar the Tran-Siberian. But please share any notes on cheap flights. The direct ones are more appreciated and I know a little more expensive... but I need to start thinking about booking it very soon!

PheoniX

moorrrniin :wave:

Ive been busy catching up with your thread this morning.. Am sorry to hear things didn't pan out with Mr Archer but at least you will have made a good friend

I also find all that personality stuff fascinating, I did the Myers Briggs test also and found that I'm an INFJ, which I would say sums me up

Like yourself, I have also lost that loving feeling with my job and feel directionless, which saddens me. And even though i have felt that personal development has taken a back seat while debt busting over the last 2 years, i have grown to realise that I have developed in other ways unrelated to my work, that has been a result of my financial situation. Therefore these years have not been wasted. You too have achieved a lot from your financial situation and by committing yourself to these threads. I'm sure the experience will put you in good stead for finding your eventual career You are lucky to have found an area of interest that you are truly passionate about

I'm well impressed with Dorothy's spider cat skills! From another perspective re taking her home, are there any family members planning a visit soon? Would they be able to take her on your behalf?

NinjaSavingKat

Pheonix you are right. A lot is learned on a journey like this. I never knew I was this determined. I managed to pay for a family holiday in 2009 to Switzerland, then the Tran-Siberian in 2010 all in cash. That is as close as I got to knowing what I was capable of. Now I feel things are different. Not only my money-making tenancity but my desire to look outside the box and discover new things to stretch myself is just as important.

And not being in debt allows me the luxury of possibly taking a job I love for less money without worrying so much.

Yes spider cat surpassed herself last night. My bed linen had just been washed so there was no way she was going to stay outside!

A family member could take her back, it's an option but I am going home anyway for a month so need to get there with her. I suppose they would be an extra pair of hands - with no luggage so I could use their allowance. Hmmmm I guess part of me doesn't know how much I will be taking home.

I think I need to get out to that garage at the weekend and see what I could dispense with. Apparently the landlord has a wardrobe arriving on Friday next week which means I can actually bring everything inside - as the moment I am having to run out there for shoes. Plus everything else.

Anyway anything that is irrelevant or not important will not be brought back - kitchen ware, photo albums will be stripped or scanned into my computer, heels will be given away ( I can't wear them any more due to knee damage), tupperware??, the motorbike and clothing/helmet (lol) .... basically everything! I have a large mirror (5-6ft) iron cast, ornate and massive - that will be sold hopefully (the landlord said I should leave it with him and he would make use of it. I politely declined and thought that was a little cheeky of him to even suggest) - and I will be left with one suitcase of my favourite clothes and my rucksack I am taking away with me...

Hmmmm need to think this through properly and start getting rid of more things now.

NinjaSavingKat

So over the course of the last week it has been on my mind to start thinking about travel - both getting Dorothy to Irelane on the 1st October and me to Bangkok on the 1st November. And yes - you know I like to be precise with these matters...

So I decided to pull the provernial finger out and start ringing around. The t'interweb has provided no helpful information so I rang BA / Flybe and eventually Stenaline - I am adding number just in case somewhere down the line someone wants to do the same.

• BA cargo (08444 727 400) use a company called Airpets (01753 685 571) who want £800 :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:minimum to send my cat with the baggage to Ireland. He laughed with me at their own prices and told me to try Flybe.
• FlyBe (0113 250 1162) want £318 to put her in with the baggage. They need her there 3 hours early and the cargo hold is a 20 minute drive from the actual terminal. How I get there is anyone's guess so a Taxi to and fro is the only option. They won't let her out of the cage, feed her or let her use a litter-tray. She then has a 1 hour minimum flight where she will disembark over the following 30-40 minutes with the other cargo probably by then scared out of her wits. They also expect you to use a specific cage - otherwise you buy theirs @ £60.
• Stenline (08447 70 70 70) however worked like this...............

1. Train from my home station to Birkenhad Hamilton Square (closest station to the ferry port ) = £86.50 (off-peak)
   
2. Ferry as foot passenger = £30
3. Cabin for over-night 8h route = £55
4. Dog cabin = £15
5. Discount through work (NI Concession line 02890 760 760) = 12.5%

Total = £173...:eek:

THEN ...(yes it gets better)... There is an option to pay the rail and ferry ticket together via Rail and Sail = (08445 762 762)..


This includes the cabin, the dog cabin, my ferry ticket and a PEAK train ticket to get me there 1.5 hours early (suits me fine, I like being 30 minutes early rather than 2 minutes late) = £137 :eek::eek::eek: and if I did this during THE DAY (1030-1830 sailing) leaving London at 0527 (will rope a friend into the drop off at Euston) it's only £87.50 :eek::eek::eek:....It keeps getting BETTER!!!

:T:T:T AMAZING!!! :T:T:T

Needless to say I am doing this. Although it's a longer journey the dog cabin allows moggy her own space to stretch her legs, snooze time to calm down a bit, I can visit her and take her out if I want, feed her and such like ( although I have to carry a litter tray) I get to sleep over-night with free wi-fi in my cabin ( although I "might" be tempted to do the early ferry instead) and moggy gets to see more of me....

Then whatever frieght costs I don't care cause this is SO CHEAP!!!

If I want to bring a girlfriend it's another £67 in total for her - ferry AND train ticket. My Dad will then pick us up on the other end! Amazing eh??

I am chuffed to bits with this option!!! :):):)

Karmacat

NSK, I subscribed last week, and I'm in awe at your research! This is absolutely brilliant! And I'm so glad that Hamilton Square comes in useful

NinjaSavingKat

KarmaCat - hello you you! Are you there at Hamilton Square?? I just cannot believe the prices - it's unreal. I don't travel well so it will probably kill me but I can sleep for the entire journey so it's okay!!